The MLB season begins on Thursday. With the season just days away, this is your last chance to place your bets on the season’s overall wins at BetMGM. The odds makers have published projected winning totals for each MLB team, and you can put your money down if you think they’re wrong.
How do the odds makers see this season? What do you expect from your favorite team? Let’s take a look at the projected overall wins for each team, from the Dodgers to the Orioles.
league for themselves
Los Angeles Dodgers (98.5 wins): Last season, the Dodgers didn’t win their division, but they finished with 106 wins. In the 2020 season shortened by the pandemic, the Dodgers won 43 of 60 regular-season games (116 wins in a 162-game season) before winning the World Series. In 2019, the Dodgers won 106 games. Winning games in the regular season is a foregone conclusion for this team.
The Dodgers are expected to be the best team in MLB. (Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
The Dodgers added Freddie Freeman and Craig Kimbrel. You have a whole season of Trea Turner. They expect much better seasons from Cody Bellinger and Mookie Betts. As a result, Los Angeles has a projected winning total of 98.5 wins, six wins more than any other team in baseball.
Other top teams
Houston Astros (92.5 wins): The Astros won 95 games last season. Justin Verlander returns this season but Carlos Correa is gone.
Toronto Blue Jays (92.5 wins): In 2021, the Blue Jays won 91 games. Your young core continues to grow. They replaced Robbie Ray, Steven Matz and Marcus Semien with Kevin Gausman, Yusei Kikuchi and Matt Chapman. Unvaccinated players are not allowed to travel to Toronto. Is that enough of an advantage to push Toronto past 92.5 wins?
Chicago White Sox (92.5 wins): Coming off a 93-win season, the White Sox are another young team on the rise. They lost Carlos Rodon to free agency and Lance Lynn went down with an injury so their rotation will be tested early.
Atlanta Braves (91.5 wins): The Braves are the defending champions, but they only won 88 games last year. Ronald Acuna is still missing at the start of the season. Freddie Freeman is gone but Matt Olson has been snapped up to replace him.
The story goes on
New York Yankees (91.5 wins): The Yankees won 92 games last season, but their division is strong and they didn’t do much to improve over the winter. Will the Yankees be able to keep up?
Tampa Bay Rays (90.5 wins): Tampa Bay won 100 games in 2021, but they traded some key players like Austin Meadows and Joey Wendle. However, they always seem to find a way to develop players from scratch and win games.
playoff contender
Milwaukee Brewers (89.5 wins): With Corbin Burnes, Brandon Woodruff and Freddy Peralta, Milwaukee has arguably the best rotation in baseball. They’re coming off a 95-win season, so 89.5+ wins looks appealing.
New York Mets (88.5 wins): Few teams have been as active in the offseason as the Mets, but Jacob deGrom is already injured. Are the Mets competitors or will they disappoint again?
San Diego Padres (88.5 wins): Expectations for the Padres in 2021 were high, but they fell far short of them, missing the playoffs with just 79 wins. Can they improve without Fernando Tatis at the beginning of the year?
Philadelphia Phillies (86.5 wins): Nick Castellanos is a big addition and the Phillies should be able to rake this season. Will her defense and pitching hold up enough to put her above 86.5 wins after an 82-win season last year?
Boston Red Sox (85.5 wins): Nobody expected much from Boston in 2021, but they won 92 games and finished ahead of the Yankees. Despite the addition of Trevor Story, some step backwards is expected from Boston.
San Francisco Giants (85.5 wins): Speaking of regression, no one believed the Giants were the real deal last season. They finished the season with 107 wins but odds makers expect them to lose at least 20 more games this season compared to last season.
Los Angeles Angels (84.5 wins): Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani are among the MVP favorites, but is there enough on the rest of this list to make some noise? They won just 77 games last year, but Trout missed much of the season.
Seattle Mariners (84.5 wins): Seattle won 90 games in 2021 and almost snuck into the playoffs. The Mariners added Robbie Ray, Adam Frazier, Eugenio Suarez and Jesse Winker this winter. Youngsters Jarred Kelenic, Julio Rodriguez and Logan Gilbert are also expected to play big roles.
St. Louis Cardinals (84.5 wins): The Cardinals haven’t done much in the offseason, but they’re coming off a 90-win season and can play in what is, for most, a weak NL Central.
Minnesota Twins (81.5 wins): It’s been a poor year for the Twins in 2021 as they won just 73 games en route to finishing bottom in the AL Central. They added Sonny Gray, Carlos Correa and Gary Sanchez in the offseason. The twins look like a decent bet to bounce back in 2022.
The middle teams
Detroit Tigers (77.5 wins): Detroit won 77 games in 2021 as a young, rising team. The Tigers added Javy Baez and Austin Meadows in the offseason. Top prospect Spencer Torkelson made the team. Riley Greene is also expected to be on his feet when he returns from injury. Can the team continue to grow and improve on last year?
Cleveland Guardians (76.5 wins): The Guardians have one of the lowest payrolls in baseball, but they have a decent rotation as well as an MVP candidate in Jose Ramirez. Is that enough to keep them competitive in a division with many question marks?
Miami Marlins (76.5 wins): Miami quietly has one of the better starting rotations in baseball, especially with the return of Sixto Sanchez. The Marlins’ lineup isn’t intimidating, however, and the NL East is looking tough this year. Miami only won 67 games in 2021, which means I need a 10-win jump to top the total.
Kansas City Royals (74.5 wins): The Royals ended 2021 with 74 wins and had a fairly quiet offseason. Bobby Witt Jr. has given the team and the Royals hope that he could, combined with a healthier season from Adalberto Mondesi, lead to an improved team in 2022.
Chicago Cubs (74.5 wins): Kris Bryant, Javy Baez and Anthony Rizzo are all gone and it’s a new era in Chicago. Seiya Suzuki, the 27-year-old Japanese, was bought and is currently the favorite for the NL Rookie of the Year title.
Texas Rangers (74.5 wins): Rangers spent big bucks to bring in Corey Seager and Marcus Semien, which helped push their total win tally to 74.5. Texas has won just 60 games in 2021.
Cincinnati Reds (73.5 wins): Cincinnati won 83 games in 2021 but parted ways with Nick Castellanos, Eugenio Suarez, Jesse Winker, Sonny Gray and Tucker Barnhart in the offseason.
The predicted bad teams
Washington Nationals (70.5 wins): The Nationals unofficially began rebuilding at the close of trade when they traded Trea Turner and Max Scherzer to Los Angeles. The Nationals have won 65 games in 2021 and while they probably won’t be as bad as some other teams, it could be a struggle in the contested NL East.
Colorado Rockies (69.5 wins): The Rockies basically replaced Trevor Story with Kris Bryant. Colorado won 74 games in 2021, but oddsmakers are predicting an even worse 2022 season for the Rockies.
Oakland Athletics (68.5 wins): The Athletics won 86 games in 2022 and then parted ways with Matt Olson, Matt Chapman, Starling Marte, Chris Bassitt and Sean Manaea. Yes, winning is not the goal here.
Arizona Diamondbacks (66.5 wins): Arizona has won 52 games in 2021. Do you see a 15 game improvement for this group?
Pittsburgh Pirates (64.5 wins): Pittsburgh won 61 games last year and its fans will have to wait to see top prospect Oneil Cruz. Cruz is +425 for NL Rookie of the Year, second-best odds, though he will start the season in triple-A.
Baltimore Orioles (62.5 wins): Baltimore lost 110 games last year and the AL East has only gotten better and more competitive. Do we really think this team will improve by 11 games?